Why should you read “The Master and Margarita”? - Alex Gendler

Translator: Arofat Akhundjanova Reviewer: Nazarbek Nazarov

The Devil has come to town.

Kunlarning birida shaharda Shaytoni-La'in paydo bo'ldi.

But don’t worry – all he wants to do is stage a magic show.

Ammo xavotirga hojat yo'q: u bor-yo'g'i teatrda qora jodu tomoshasini qo'ymoqchi.

This absurd premise forms the central plot

Mana shu qiziqarli muqaddima Mixail Bulgakovning shoh asari –

of Mikhail Bulgakov’s masterpiece, "The Master and Margarita."

"Usta va Margarita" ning asosiy syujet chizig'ini shakllantiradi.

Written in Moscow during the 1930s,

XX asrning 30-yillarida Moskvada yozilgan bu asarda

this surreal blend of political satire, historical fiction,

siyosiy satira, tarixiy proza va

and occult mysticism

okkultizmga yo'girilgan mistika o'zaro

has earned a legacy as one of the 20th century’s greatest novels–

uyg'unlashgan bo’lib, 20-asrning eng buyuk, shu bilan birga, eng g'ayrioddiy

and one of its strangest.

romanlaridan biri sifatida e'tirof etiladi.

The story begins when a meeting between two members

Hikoya boshida Moskva adabiy uyushmasining

of Moscow’s literary elite

ikki a'zosi o'rtasidagi suhbat

is interrupted by a strange gentleman named Woland,

o'zini qora jodu seansini o'tkazishga taklif qilingan

who presents himself as a foreign scholar

chet ellik olim sifatida tanishtirgan

invited to give a presentation on black magic.

Voland ismli g'oyat g'alati kimsaning tashrifi bilan bo'linadi.

As the stranger engages the two companions in a philosophical debate

Notanish kishi bu ikki hamrohni falsafiy munozaraga jalb qilib, ularning

and makes ominous predictions about their fates,

taqdirlari haqida dahshatli bashoratlar qilayotgan

the reader is suddenly transported to 1st century Jerusalem.

bir paytda, kitobxon e'tibori to'satdan milodiy I asrda

There a tormented Pontius Pilate

Quddusda bo'layotgan voqealarga ko'chiriladi.

reluctantly sentences Jesus of Nazareth to death.

Rim prokuratori Pontiy Pilat Iso Masihni istar-istamas o'limga hukm qiladi.

With the narrative shifting between the two settings,

Asar syujeti ikkita badiiy olamda parallel ravishda

Woland and his entourage– Azazello, Koroviev, Hella,

yuz beradi – Voland va uning sheriklari: Azazello, Korovyov, Gella va

and a giant cat named Behemoth–

Begemot ismli bahaybat mushuk

are seen to have uncanny magical powers,

aql bovar qilmaydigan sehr-jodu kuchi yordamida

which they use to stage their performance

haqiqiy tomosha ko'rsatib,

while leaving a trail of havoc and confusion in their wake.

olamonni katta to'palon va sarosima ichida qoldiradilar.

Much of the novel’s dark humor comes not only from this demonic mischief,

Romandagi qora yumor ko'pincha nafaqat shaytoniy shumliklarda,

but also the backdrop against which it occurs.

balki asarning tarixiy kontekstida ham o'z aksini topadi.

Bulgakov’s story takes place in the same setting where it was written–

Bulgakov asari voqealari u yaratilgan siyosiy muhit –

the USSR at the height of the Stalinist period.

Stalinizm avj olgan SSSR da sodir bo'ladi. O'sha paytda yozuvchi

There, artists and authors worked under strict censorship,

va san'atkorlar kuchli senzura bosimi ostida ishlaganlar,

subject to imprisonment, exile, or execution

asarlari davlat mafkurasiga zid bo'lgan taqdirda, qamoqqa olinishlari,

if they were seen as undermining state ideology.

quvg'in qilinishlari va hatto qatl etilishlari mumkin edi.

Even when approved, their work–

Ishlari ma'qullangan taqdirda ham, ularning

along with housing, travel, and everything else–

faoliyati, shuningdek, uy-joyi, safar-sayohatlari,

was governed by a convoluted bureaucracy.

butun turmush tarzi qat'iy byurokratiya nazoratiga olingan.

In the novel,

Romanda Voland

Woland manipulates this system along with the fabric of reality,

mazkur tizimni ustalik bilan manipulyatsiya qiladi, voqelikni aqlni

to hilarious results.

shoshirar darajada o'zgartirib yuboradi.

As heads are separated from bodies and money rains from the sky,

Qahramonlardan birini tramvay urib boshi uziladi, shiftdan pul yomg'ir bo'lib

the citizens of Moscow react with petty-self interest,

yog'iladi – moskvaliklar bularning barchasiga o'ziga xos manfaatparastlik

illustrating how Soviet society bred greed and cynicism

bilan munosabat bildiradi. Bu Sovet jamiyatida o'zining yuqori ideallariga

despite its ideals.

qaramay ochko'zlik va xudbinlik hukm

And the matter-of-fact narration

surayotganini ko'rsatadi. Quruq hikoya uslubi

deliberately blends the strangeness of the supernatural events

sekin-asta g'ayrioddiy hodisalarni sovet tuzumidagi

with the everyday absurdity of Soviet life.

kundalik hayotning bema'niligi bilan qorishtirib yuboradi.

So how did Bulgakov manage to publish such a subversive novel

Ammo qanday qilib Bulgakov avtoritarizm davrida bunday

under an oppressive regime?

isyonkor romanni nashr etishga muvaffaq bo'ldi?

Well… he didn’t.

Afsuski, u buni uddalay olmadi...

He worked on "The Master and Margarita" for over ten years.

U "Usta va Margarita" ustida o'n yildan ortiq ishladi.

But while Stalin’s personal favor

Stalinning shaxsiy iltifoti Bulgakovni

may have kept Bulgakov safe from severe persecution,

og'ir jazodan saqlab qolgan bo'lishi mumkin, ammo ko'plab pyesalarning

many of his plays and writings were kept from production,

sahnalashtirilishi va asarlarining chop etilishi taqiqlandi,

leaving him safe but effectively silenced.

tirik qoldirishsa-da, ijodiy faoliyati cheklandi.

Upon the author’s death in 1940,

1940-yil muallif vafot etgach,

the manuscript remained unpublished.

qo'lyozma chop etilmay qoldi.

A censored version was eventually printed in the 1960s,

1960-yillarga kelibgina senzura qilingan nusxasi bosilib chiqdi,

while copies of the unabridged manuscript

qo'lyozmaning asl nusxalari esa

continued to circulate among underground literary circles.

yashirin doiralarda tarqalishda davom etdi.

The full text was only published in 1973,

Kitobning to'liq matni u yozib tugatilganiga 30 yildan oshgach,

over 30 years after its completion.

1973-yildagina nashr etildi.

Bulgakov’s experiences with censorship and artistic frustration

Bulgakovning senzura bilan murosasiz kurashi va ijodiy inqiroz davri

lend an autobiographical air to the second part of the novel,

romanning ikkinchi qismiga avtobiografik ruh bag'ishlaydi,

when we are finally introduced to its namesake.

unda biz asar nomidagi qahramon bilan tanishamiz.

"The Master" is a nameless author who’s worked for years on a novel

"Usta" noma'lum yozuvchi bo'lib, uzoq yil roman ustida ishlaydi, ammo

but burned the manuscript after it was rejected by publishers–

nashriyotlar rad etgach, xuddi Bulgakov kitobning birinchi nusxasini yoqib

just as Bulgakov had done with his own work.

yuborgani singari u ham qo'lyozmasini yondirib yuboradi.

Yet the true protagonist is the Master’s mistress Margarita.

Biroq bosh qahramon Ustaning sevgilisi Margaritadir.

Her devotion to her lover’s abandoned dream

Sevgilisining sarobga aylangan orzusiga sadoqati

bears a strange connection to the diabolical company’s escapades–

tufayli u iblis to'dasining nayrangbozliklarida ishtirok etadi

and carries the story to its surreal climax.

va roman syujeti kulminatsiya nuqtasiga yetadi.

Despite its dark humor and complex structure,

O'zining qora yumori va murakkab tuzilishiga qaramay,

"The Master and Margarita" is, at its heart,

"Usta va Margarita" aslida san'at, sevgi va poklanish to'g'risida

a meditation on art, love, and redemption,

mulohaza yuritadi, chunki aynan ular

that never loses itself in cynicism.

umidsizlik va xudbinlikka berilishdan saqlaydi.

And the book’s long overdue publication and survival against the odds

Ko'p yillardan so'ng, barcha qiyinchiliklarga qaramay kitobning nashr

is a testament to what Woland tells the Master:

etilishi Voland Ustaga aytgan so'zlarning o'ziga xos tasdig'idir:

“Manuscripts don’t burn.”

"Qo'lyozmalar yonmaydi".